First gray whale arrives!
Laguna San Ignacio welcomed the first gray whale of 2013-14 season today!!
Tour #3: Laguna San Ignacio
Hello whalewatchers,
Another fantastic day in Laguna San Ignacio! We started our day with a cow and calf visiting the Searcher at 4 am and staying for three hours. (The captain on early morning watch liked this!) We started earlier with a trip out in the pangas at 7 am and everyone had a close encounter with multiple whales around the pangas.
We offered a mangrove trip on the high tide for our second trip and we sent two pangas there and 1 panga out whalewatching. We had a break for lunch and then another trip to visit the whales. Our last trip we sent one panga to the beach and two pangas out for whales. The beach group located a whale carcass that had to be uncovered by the strong north wind a few days ago so a few of us had a look at the carcass. Next trip it might be more visible.
All in all, it was a wonderful visit to this magical place. It is hard to leave Laguna San Ignacio. The crew and I are blessed that we get to come back in a couple of weeks.
The weather has been great for both days and the forecast looks great for the next day or two.
Looking forward to looking offshore tomorrow.
Capt Art
Tour #1: Islas San Jose and Los Islotes
Hello whalewatchers,
We enjoyed another beautiful day in sunny Baja. We started our day with a pre-breakfast skiff ride in the mangroves at Isla San Jose. Everyone enjoyed this trip and the bird list was outstanding. We left there and headed for Los Islotes to snorkel with sea lions. We came across a large herd of long-beaked common dolphin and there were at least 100 dolphins.
We arrived at Los Islotes and several people went snorkelling and loved it, along with a skiff ride along the shore.
We headed south with hopes of seeing some toothed whales to round out the species list and surprisingly enough, we found some.
At first it was a group of about 15 pilot whales and just as the sun set, we came across a group of about 30 sperm whales. The lighting wasn’t that great, but we sure had some great looks. What way to end a trip!
We are arriving in Cabo San Lucas in the morning and heading north to San Diego to prepare and pick up our next group of whalewatchers.
More next trip,
Capt Art
Tour #1: Bahia Agua Verde
Hello whale watchers:
We had another great day with a early walk on the peninsula at Bahia Agua Verde. The weather is still good with a few clouds and a light breeze. The temperature dropped quite a bit with a frontal passage today.
A few snorkellers went in the water at this great spot and then we headed out to look for whales. We found six different blue whales just east of Agua Verde, one of which was a fluking whale. We enjoyed some great looks, then we headed south in search of a toothed whale. We found a group of 30 or 40 bottlenose dolphin that gave us a good show.
We continued south with not much luck on whales but we did see 5 or 6 redbilled tropic birds up close. They are such pretty birds. We also found a few boobies and lots of pelicans.
As we travelled further south towards the south end of Isla San Jose, there was a little bioluminescence and good star gazing in the dark.
Looking forward to tomorrow, as usual.
Capt Art
p.s. Team Searcher is proud to announce a new member to the team. Capt Aaron Remy and his wife Ali had a 9 pound, 9 ounce baby boy today–Channing Mitchell Remy. Congratulations to them and we can’t wait for Channing to come aboard!
Good-bye to Mama
Klamath, California – In a ceremony screened by tall willows, the Yurok Tribe last week laid to rest a 45-foot (14-meter) gray whale that had delighted residents, passers-by and scientists after swimming into the lower Klamath River with its calf nearly two months ago.
http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/environment/whale-s-burial-like-a-rock-concert-1.1122917
Laguna San Ignacio census March 9
83 cow and calf pairs and 170 singles!!
Last-minute openings!
Like what you are reading about? Join us on February 7-18, 2011 tour! Two spots just opened up. Call or email for information today.
